The London-headquartered bank has handed Julie Barnsley the additional role of head of private banking.

The UK's Metro Bank has appointed commercial banking director Julie Barnsley to lead its private banking business, which now accounts for around a fifth of the bank’s operations.

Julie Barnsley replaces Kirsty MacArthur, taking on the role to meet a "boom in demand" from the bank's high net worth clients, the bank said. Metro Bank Private Banking covers specialist sectors including sports and entertainment, entrepreneurs, boards and partners, and commercial private clients. 

In its recent results statement, the bank revealed it had boosted its total assets to £4.57 billion ($7.05 billion) over the second quarter of this year, an increase of eight per cent from the first quarter and 62 per cent from the previous year.

Barnsley joined Metro Bank shortly after its launch in 2010 when it became the first new high street bank in 100 years. She will continue to serve as commercial banking director, while coordinating both private clients and private commercial clients teams led by Jon Collins and Chris Burge. She previously spent five years at Barclays where she held several senior positions.

“Julie has been with us since the very beginning of the Metro Bank journey and has made an outstanding contribution to growing and developing our commercial banking offering. I am delighted to appoint her to head of metro bank private banking, where I am confident she will make a significant impact in expanding and growing our offering,” said Metro Bank's chief executive, Craig Donaldson.

"Since first embarking on my banking career, it’s always been the traditional service-led aspects of good old fashioned relationship banking that has appealed to me most and that ethos sits at the very heart of Metro Bank. I’m proud of our offering and look forward to building on its success," said Barnsley.